Science

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday Mexico will not offer more oil joint ventures between private companies and state energy company Pemex indefinitely, raising doubts about auctions set for October. In reply to a question about the contracts, known in the industry as "farm-outs," Lopez Obrador said the country would not offer more until existing projects began producing oil. Credit ratings agency Fitch downgraded Pemex in January, citing precarious finances and a collapse i... Tags: Science, Mexico, Fitch, Pemex, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's race to build an oil refinery in record time on land that was until recently alive with mangrove, wild cats and boa constrictors, has run into trouble, complicating his effort to revive ailing state-oil company Pemex. Tags: Science, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday he wants to revise the contracts that private energy companies have with state-run power utility CFE and reach an agreement with those firms so they do not hike electricity prices. "We are looking to achieve a voluntary restructuring of agreements and commitments within the framework of the law ... The Mexican government is committed to not increase electricity prices for consumers, but we want private comp... Tags: Science, Mexico, Mexico City, Reuters Mexico, CFE, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday he wants to revise the contracts that private energy companies have with state-run power utility CFE so they do not hike electricity prices. "We are urging companies that have agreements with the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) to come together to review contracts and above all to reach an agreement that electricity prices will not increase," Lopez Obrador said during his morning press conference. "We are looking to achieve a vo... Tags: Science, Mexico, CFE, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Federal Electricity Commission CFE

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday he will ask a senior executive with national oil company Pemex to leave his position as an investigation into corruption allegations facing him and two other officials proceeds. Leftist Lopez Obrador won a landslide election last year promising to root at rampant corruption in Latin America's second biggest economy. Last week, the president announced that he would ask for information compiled by prosecutors investigating Miguel Ang... Tags: Science, Latin America, Pemex, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Miguel Angel Lozada, Hector Salvador Salgado

Soldiers patrolling this area in central Mexico after the Jan. 18 tragedy told Reuters they found 15 illicit spigots just a few kilometers away on the same pipeline operated by the nation's state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos or Pemex. Such is the mammoth task confronting President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has vowed to end Mexico's rampant fuel theft. In December, Lopez Obrador announced a crackdown on the banditry. Tags: Science, Mexico, Reuters, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Petroleos Mexicanos, Pemex Such

State oil firm Pemex did not close the gasoline pipe when first notified by the military, about four hours before Friday's blast, because it considered the leak "minimal," Security Minister Alfonso Durazo told a news conference. In the hours that followed, the leak grew and as many as 800 people brought plastic containers to the gushing duct, filling up with free fuel in what witnesses described as an almost festive atmosphere. Relatives of some of the victims said fuel shortages stemming from... Tags: Science, Pemex, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Alfonso Durazo, Tula Tuxpan

Some relatives of the victims said fuel shortages stemming from President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's plan led people to fill plastic containers with gasoline on Friday at a leak in the Tula-Tuxpan pipeline, a few miles (km) from a major refinery. Half a dozen people told Reuters their relatives went to the leaking duct in Hidalgo state's Tlahuelilpan district in central Mexico because they had been struggling to find fuel and were desperate to fill up cars to get to work or run their farms. ... Tags: Science, Mexico, Reuters, Hidalgo, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Tlahuelilpan, Tula Tuxpan

On Friday, at least 79 people died from a powerful explosion at a gasoline pipeline in central Mexico that had been punctured by fuel thieves. Relatives of some of the victims said fuel shortages stemming from the government's crackdown led people to risk their lives filling plastic containers from the leak. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office in December, said the tragedy has not weakened his faith in the plan. Tags: Science, Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

Fuel thieves punctured the Tula-Tuxpan pipeline a few miles from one of Mexico's main refineries on Friday. Half a dozen people interviewed by Reuters on Saturday said their relatives went to the leaking duct in Tlahuelilpan district in Hidalgo state because they struggled to find fuel elsewhere and were desperate to fill up cars to get to work or run their farms. Late last month, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador launched a program to shut down an illegal fuel distribution network that si... Tags: Science, Mexico, Reuters, Hidalgo, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Tlahuelilpan, Tula Tuxpan

Fuel thieves punctured the Tula-Tuxpan pipeline a few miles from one of Mexico's main refineries on Friday. Half a dozen people interviewed by Reuters on Saturday said their relatives went to the leaking duct in Tlahuelilpan district in Hidalgo state because they struggled to find fuel elsewhere and were desperate to fill up cars to get to work or run their farms. Late last month, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador launched a program to shut down an illegal fuel distribution network that si... Tags: Science, Mexico, Reuters, Hidalgo, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Tlahuelilpan, Tula Tuxpan

A major fuel pipeline that supplies Mexico City remained closed after two ruptures in a single day, the president said on Friday, as the government works to stem shortages that have frustrated motorists and triggered economic risks. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's offensive against fuel robbers marks the leftist's first attempt to tackle entrenched corruption since taking office on Dec. 1. Criminal groups have tapped pipelines and stolen tanker trucks carrying diesel and gasoline in th... Tags: Science, Mexico City, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

Yields on the debt of Mexican state-run oil company Pemex rose sharply this week after the company failed during presentations in New York to lay out a clear plan to reduce debt and increase output, analysts said. Pemex faces the possibility of a credit ratings downgrade due to costly proposals by the new government of leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that include plans to build a new refinery and upgrade existing ones. Half a dozen investors and analysts who either attended or w... Tags: New York, Science, Pemex, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Alberto Velazquez

Gasoline shortages in Mexico sparked by a crackdown on fuel theft prompted warnings from business leaders that industries like carmaking will suffer if the shortfalls persist as lines at gas stations in the capital grew on Wednesday. The drive to eradicate a crime that has deprived state coffers of billions of dollars is President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's first major move against chronic corruption since taking office on Dec. 1, but risks angering consumers and hurting the economy. Crimin... Tags: Science, Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

Gasoline shortages in Mexico sparked by a government crackdown on fuel theft prompted warnings from business leaders that industries like carmaking will suffer if the problem persists, while lines at gas stations grew in the capital on Wednesday. The drive to eradicate a crime that has drained billions of dollars from state coffers is President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's first major move against chronic corruption since taking office on Dec. 1. Lopez Obrador said fuel theft has dropped to t... Tags: Science, Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador, Petroleos Mexicanos Pemex

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday that his crackdown against fuel theft was yielding positive results, even as the intervention sparked severe fuel shortages in parts of the country and long lines of angry motorists. In a bid to eliminate years of mounting theft, state oil firm Pemex has changed its distribution, triggering shortfalls in at least six states, including Guanajuato, a major car-making hub in central Mexico. Guanajuato's state government said that less t... Tags: Science, Mexico, Guanajuato, Pemex, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexico Guanajuato

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday that the country's offensive against fuel theft was yielding good results and would continue, though it has provoked fuel shortages and long lines of angry motorists. As part of the campaign to combat chronic theft of gasoline, state oil firm Pemex is changing its distribution, triggering shortages in at least six states. Lopez Obrador said at a news conference that the government had not established a date for when operations would ... Tags: Science, Pemex, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador

A Reuters witness said many gas stations in the city of Guadalajara in Jalisco state were closed on Sunday, and that there were long lines of motorists at those that were operating. Violent criminal gangs have for years used fuel theft as a way to supplement their income, hurting Mexico's refineries, bleeding money from state coffers and driving bloodshed as they fight rivals and extort oil workers. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office in December, said on Friday that the sho... Tags: Science, Mexico, Guadalajara, Reuters, Jalisco, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

Mexico's government unveiled a plan on Thursday to step up use of the armed forces to combat fuel theft, vowing to root out corrupt officials it says are largely responsible for a problem that has cost the country billions of dollars. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a regular news conference his government would fight the theft "outside and inside" state oil firm Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), saying authorities were complicit in the bulk of the crimes. "This is the theft of national... Tags: Science, Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Petroleos Mexicanos Pemex

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A group of prominent scientists issued an appeal Wednesday to Mexico’s new president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, calling on him to take the unprecedented step of outlawing the possession of gill nets in the upper Gulf of California to save the critically endangered vaquita porpoise. The vaquita is the world’s smallest […] Tags: Science, News, Mexico, Ap, Nation, Mexico City, Gulf Of California, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador used his first full day in office Sunday to double down on promises to deploy Mexico’s military for public security to address a key concern: stemming rampant violence and rising murders. Tags: Science, Mexico, Army, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

Mexico's incoming leftist government of President-Elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday opened polls for a referendum on whether or not to keep building a controversial new airport for the capital area. The 64-year-old Lopez Obrador, who succeeds Enrique Pena Nieto on December 1, had threatened to cancel the multi-billion-dollar project, charging it was a waste of taxpayer money. The soon-to-be president, a former Mexico City mayor, has also criticized the environmental impact of the p... Tags: Science, Mexico, Mexico City, Enrique Peña Nieto, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez Obrador

Furious at spiraling corruption and violence, Mexican voters unleashed a political earthquake Sunday by electing a leftist firebrand as president and giving him a broad mandate to overthrow the political establishment and govern for the poor. Tags: Science, Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador